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Hotel Syracuse
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| Location: | 500 S. Warren St., Syracuse, New York |
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| Built: | 1924 |
| Architect: | Post, George B. & Sons |
| Architectural style: | Renaissance |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: |
08000141 [1] |
| Added to NRHP: | March 05, 2008 |
The Hotel Syracuse is located at 500 South Warren Street, Syracuse, New York. It has not been operational for a number of years and currently sits vacant. However, it has been an important part of Downtown Syracuse since 1924.
It is significant in that it is "an excellent example of an early 20th century modern hotel designed by one of the leading hotel designers of the day." It was designed by William Stone Post of George B. Post & Sons of New York City in 1921.[2]
Hotel Syracuse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.[1]
In 2004, Downtown Syracuse suffered a major blow when the Hotel Syracuse closed. The 790-room hotel found itself opreating battling bankruptcy.
In December 2004, the city announced that a million-dollar payment by the chief creditor of the Hotel Syracuse would settle the unpaid property taxes dispute. This allowed the hotel to emerge from bankruptcy.
In August 2005, the Israeli firm GMUL agreed to buy the Hotel Syracuse and its garage and renovate the property into a new four star hotel and condos. More detailed plans became public in December 2005[3], listing the following plans for the complex:
In May 2006, the Hotel Syracuse project was sold to another Israeli company named AMERIS Holdings Ltd as part of a larger package deal, which included this and other assets acquired from GMUL. AMERIS Holdings Ltd, controlled by the Levi Kushnir and his son Elad, has a large portfolio of development across the globe and specifically in the USA.
The owners reconfigured some of the previous plans. Rather than selling condominiums in the tower, the condo portion of the project was to be shifted into the historic building. The overall programming was not changed.
When ownership changed in 2006, Ameris Holdings ltd. reopened the banquet facilities, which had been closed for several years. This was important to the community, since these facilities have a nostalgic value going back many years.
Shortly after, work began on the tower (now being programed into luxury rental apartments), the garage was fully renovated (Opened September 1, 2007), and the complex hosted some large scale events, including the Syracuse Film Festival in April 2007.
In July 2007, work began on the tower portion of the project. The developer announced that 75 units would be available on the market by the third quarter of 2008. The unnamed building was to include a mix of luxury one- and two-bedroom apartments and services like a full time doorman, parking, washer/dryer in each apartment, stainless steel aplliances and other amenities to draw in clientele.
Then-mayor Matt Driscoll committed to turning Onondaga Street near the hotel complex into a park, in order to push the development along. The city sent out a press release in September 2007, stating that the Onondaga Street Park was hoped to be completed in the spring of 2008. It was hoped that the park's opening would coincide with the opening of the tower apartments.
As of October 2011, the hotel remains vacant.